Raymond Chretien

Raymond Chrétien, OC (born May 20, 1942) is the nephew of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

"Former Canadian ambassador to France, the United States, Belgium, Mexico and the Congo, Raymond Chrétien acts as Partner and Strategic Advisor at Fasken Martineau.

"Raymond Chrétien has extensive knowledge and first-hand experience of senior government affairs, international financing agencies, complex issues in international negotiations and trade agreements. His experience will add further value to the advice given to our clients doing business in Canada and to Canadian businesses expanding in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Africa.

"He retired from the federal public service at the beginning of 2004 after almost 38 years of service.

"As early as 1966, Raymond Chrétien joined the Legal Affairs Bureau of the Department of External Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and, over the next twelve years, had key assignments in Ottawa with the Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board and the Canadian International Development Agency. Outside Canada, he served at Canada's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Canadian Embassies in Beirut and Paris.

"In 1978, he was named Canada's Ambassador to Zaïre with joint accreditation to Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo Republic. He returned to Ottawa in 1981 where he was respectively Policy Director for Industry, Investments & Competition (81/82), Assistant Under-Secretary of Manufacturing, Technology & Transportation (82/83) and Inspector General (83/85), in the Department of External Affairs and International Trade.

"In 1985, Raymond Chrétien was appointed Canada's Ambassador to Mexico. After completing his service, he left Mexico to be named Associate Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs. Later, he served as Canada's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxemburg from 1991-1994. In January 1994, he became Canada's eighteenth representative to the United States of America, until September 2000.

"While based in Washington in 1996, he was appointed as the Secretary General of the United Nation's Personal Envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa to undertake an assessment of the serious humanitarian crisis in the region and to make recommendations to the United Nations Security Council on the measures to resolve it.

"From 2000 to 2003, Raymond Chrétien was Ambassador of Canada to France."


 * Director, Canadian International Council